Evaluation of Retailers' Behaviour Towards Certain Youth Access-to-Tobacco Restrictions (2002)

Part B
Tobacco advertisements at point of sale

ACNielsen has monitored the extent and quality of distribution of tobacco advertising at point of sale since 1996. For this year's study, measurements were established as follows:

• for all stores and by trade class, an indication of the number and type of in-store tobacco promotional items in these outlets, including counter-top displays, shelf-talkers, danglers, posters and other promotional merchandise[1]; and
• for chain convenience, independent convenience stores and gas bars/service stations, the information on the same tobacco point-of-sale materials listed above, reported by major tobacco brand name.

These parameters are similar to those of previous studies, and the current findings build on results of past measurements. This year's measurement is second one taken following the date when a total ban on tobacco sponsorship advertising at point-of-sale was imposed by the federal government. The first measurement after the ban was taken in 2000. Prior to the ban, sponsorship-related advertising represented a major portion of tobacco advertisements at retail. The latest survey, therefore, provides an indication of the evolution of tobacco point-of-sale merchandising since sponsorship restrictions were imposed a few years ago. It should be clarified that the use of the words "advertising" or "ad" in this section refer more accurately to tobacco merchandising and promotional materials at point-of-sale.

This survey is the first to be taken since tighter restrictions were placed on product placement and display in Saskatchewan. Under the Tobacco Control Act of that province that came into effect in 2002, any retail establishment selling tobacco and frequented by persons below eighteen years of age must ensure that tobacco products are hidden from view. Later in this section we will report results based on compliance with this aspect of Saskatchewan law.

To qualify as a tobacco ad, promotional materials had to identify tobacco brand names, logos or trademarks directly. Any promotional materials void of such identifying trademarks did not receive distribution credit, even if these materials depicted events, images or bore colors that are associated with tobacco products or the companies that manufacture them.

1. General Trends In Tobacco POS Advertising

1.1. Distribution Of Point-Of-Sale (POS) Advertising

At the national level, the nature and availability of tobacco-related POS material has not changed since the last measurements taken in 2000. Across five classes of trade and thirty cities, an estimated 32.7% of retailers carried some form of point-of-sale advertising. This weighted national figure is the lowest distribution of POS tobacco ads since measurements were first taken in 1996. However, statistically, the figure is not significantly lower than the 35.2% in 2000.

Nationally, no single piece of POS advertising material was found in more than twenty-eight percent of stores (compares with twenty-seven percent in 2000). Following the ban on tobacco sponsorship advertising, after the 1999 results, tobacco companies realigned their in-store merchandising vehicles.[2] The traditional predominance of posters was replaced by the shift to counter-top displays. The strategies adopted then appear to be in place still today. Among specific forms of POS ads, counter-top displays remain the predominant ad form available in the largest percentage of stores (28.0% distribution, a figure comparable to the 26.6% of the previous study).

The one further change that has taken place since the last measurement in 2000 is the virtual disappearance of "other" forms of POS merchandise, typically trademarked tobacco calendars and wall clocks, as a means of promotion. These items are almost completely phased out following the sponsorship ban, but interestingly, some three percent of stores nationally still have such items on display.

Table 19 - Weighted - National (All Stores)
% of Stores With Point-of-Sale Advertising By Type of Ad

	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2002
All Ad Types	36.0	37.4	39.1	40.8	35.2	32.7
Danglers	1.2	1.6	0.4	2.8	0.5	0.7
Shelf-Talkers	12.5	1.7	1.2	1.4	1.8	3.1
Posters	16.6	14.0	12.5	14.9	4.2	1.2
Counter - Top Displays	13.6	17.0	19.8	17.4	26.6	28.0
Other Ad Types	14.8	16.1	18.6	19.2	10.3	2.5

In comparison with findings in 2000, the distribution of tobacco ads was measurably lower, or nil this year, in seventeen of the core twenty-five cities both studies had in common. Eight of the thirty cities we surveyed in all had no ads whatsoever, including seven core cities and Moncton, one of the new cities surveyed for the first time this year.

Retailers in the Atlantic region, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and BC were the least likely to have ads; those in Quebec and Alberta, the most likely. In Alberta, despite the relatively great percentage of retail outlets with tobacco POS, the current ad distribution levels are nonetheless lower than they were in 2000. This is not the case in Quebec, where ad distribution levels are not only high, but where, across the four cities surveyed in that province, distribution is as high or higher now than it was two years ago.

Retailers in both cities measured in Saskatchewan are among those with no tobacco POS materials in their stores at all, and reporting among the most significant decreases since the last survey. The recent law change in this province obviously is responsible for the removal of tobacco-related advertising at point-of-sale.

In the majority of cities where distribution has decreased, this can be attributed to declines in distribution of the ad types that were most popular in 2000: chiefly counter-top displays and shelf-talkers.

Tobacco ad distribution was lowest (less than 10.0%) in those areas shown in the table (next page):

Table 20
Weighted- All Stores
Changes in Point-of-Sale Ad Distribution Across Regions - 2002 vs 2000 Results

Eight communities of the core twenty-five reported higher ad distribution this year than in 2000. In most of these, the percentage of retail outlets with tobacco POS remains below the national average, but this is not the case everywhere. As indicated above, absolute distribution of tobacco POS advertising remains above average across Alberta and Quebec, but it is in Quebec that levels have actually increased over those measured in 2000. Outside these provinces, the only city where levels are high and have increased since the last measurement is Windsor. Interestingly, Windsor was on the net gainers list last time as well. Proximity to the US border may be a factor keeping POS ad levels in Windsor higher than in other parts of Ontario.

The cities where tobacco ad distribution levels are highest are shown in the table below. The list includes three cities with the largest absolute increase in ad distribution since the last survey. These are: Sherbrooke, Chicoutimi/Jonquiere and Sudbury. Not on this list is Campbell River/Courtnay, Vancouver and St. John's, NFLD, where, relatively high distribution increases aside, the absolute levels remain relatively low (about twenty percent for each city).[3]

Table 22
Weighted- All Stores
Changes in Point-of-Sale Ad Distribution Across Regions - 2002 vs 2000 Results

In all of these cities, ad distribution remained higher or increased chiefly as the result of the established presence and/or added proliferation of counter-top displays.

Quebec City and Sherbrooke were the only two areas of the country with ad distribution above sixty percent. Three other cities: Windsor, Montreal and Red Deer had distribution above fifty percent.

1.2. POS Ad Share & Number Of Ads Per Store By Type

POS Ad Share By Type

Nationally, counter-top displays now account for virtually all of the tobacco POS materials at retail. These displays make up eighty percent (79.8%) of the ad forms out there. The figure is higher than it was in 2000 and, indeed, represents the highest level of concentration ever for any single form of tobacco advertising.

The only reason counter-top displays are more important now than before is because other forms of tobacco advertising are fewer in stores. The actual percentage of stores with counter-top displays has not changed since last time, nor has the average number of displays in stores increased. Just over a quarter of all stores carry these displays now as in 2000, and the average store has 1.6 counter-top displays in place today, compared with 1.9 in the last survey.

There hardly remain stores displaying posters, danglers or "other" forms of tobacco advertising (eg: calendars, clocks). None of these ad forms is found in more than 2.5% of stores nationally. The presence of shelf-talkers is a little higher today than in 2000, but these too are available in no more than 3.1% of stores. Where any of these ad forms are still in place, retailers carry no more today, on average, than they did before. The situation reflects the restrictions on tobacco sponsorship advertising that have been in effect for the last several years.

All things considered, today there are far less of the specifically-measured POS tobacco ads than at anytime in the recent past.

Regionally, tobacco advertising patterns often mimic the national findings. Counter-top displays were by far the most prominent forms of advertising left in most communities--- but not all:

• in Windsor, where more than half of stores still carry tobacco ads, posters still make up the largest share of ads. Posters are available in forty percent of area stores and make up 65.7% of all ads. Counter-top displays represent less than a third of tobacco POS ads in Windsor;
• in Brandon, where a small number of retailers (8.0%) still carry ads, the vast majority (76.5%) are in the form of shelf-talkers;
• in Medicine Hat, Sudbury and Chicoutimi/Jonquiere, counter-top displays make up no more than half of available ads. Posters remain prominent in Medicine Hat, "other" ad forms still dominate in Sudbury, and in Chicoutimi/Jonquiere, posters, shelf-talkers and even danglers are about equally available.

Average Number Of Ads By Type Per Store

The average number of ads in stores with ads was 1.7. The number of ads per store carrying is lower than at any time since 1997, at the same time that the number of stores with any ads has dropped.

Note: These averages cannot be added to arrive at a cumulative total because not all stores carry all ads. The combined average is an estimate calculated by dividing the total number of ads in distribution by the number of retail outlets that have at least one in-store tobacco ad. Store averages for individual types of ads are arrived at by dividing the total number of ads of that

Table 23
Tobacco Point-of-Sale Ad Distribution & Share Summary - All Stores (Weighted)

1.3. Tobacco Advertising by Class of Trade (Table 24)

Smaller-surface stores were more likely than larger-area stores to carry tobacco POS merchandising materials. The highest distribution of such goods was in convenience chains (57.8%), gas stations/kiosks (34.1%) and independent convenience stores (33.0%).

Across all channels those stores with tobacco POS materials, on average, had more than one piece per store.

Nationally, the percentage of each store type carrying POS ads was not substantially different from levels reported in 2000, except in pharmacies and grocery supermarkets[4]. Substantially fewer pharmacies (4.7%) carry tobacco POS merchandising now than in 2000, and those that still do average fewer ads per store than in the past. Indeed, pharmacies were the least likely of any retail trade class to carry POS ads.

Across grocery stores, the distribution of POS ads was marginally higher than in 2000, and the average number of ads per store carrying was also up (from 1.9 pieces in 2000 to 2.5 pieces now). However, tobacco POS material is still likely to be found in no more than twelve percent of grocery stores.

Across each separate class of trade, counter-top displays were available in more stores than any other ad type. Once again, smaller-surface stores were the most likely to carry counter-top displays, and most of these stores with displays carried about two displays per location.

The incidence of "other" ad forms (i.e, wall clocks, calendars and the like) is much diminished, to the point very these items have all but disappeared from view in every class of trade.

Variations to these observations recorded at the national level may be found across cities and regions (refer to statistical summary tables in the Appendix).

Table 24
Tobacco Point-of-Sale Advertising By Class Of Trade
(Weighted) All Ad Types - 2002

NOTE: Summary tables of advertising findings by city by class of trade are provided in the Appendix to this report.

1.4. Tobacco Advertising By Proximity To Schools &/Or Malls (Table 25)

Nationally, no statistically meaningful difference exists regarding the availability of tobacco advertising based on the proximity of stores to schools or malls. Across all cities, ad distribution was 31.5% in stores closest to schools/malls and 33.8% in stores further away.

Within the various trade classes, distribution differences based on location to schools/malls were largely insignificant, except in the case of convenience chains. Here, stores closer to schools or malls were less likely than those further away to carry ads. This is the first year that a shift in this direction was noted.

Table 25
Tobacco Ad % Distribution
Based on Store proximity to Schools/Malls (Weighted) - 1997 - 2002

1.5.Tobacco Advertising Under Saskatchewan Law

The recently adapted Tobacco Control Act of Saskatchewan is very clear in its prohibitions against certain sales promotion practices at point-of-sale[5]. Among its provisions, the law:

• specifically prohibits the advertising or promotion of tobacco or tobacco-related products in any place or premises in which these products are sold if young persons (i.e., those under the age of 18 years) are permitted access to the premises;
• requires that tobacco retailers post no signs respecting legal age to purchase tobacco or tobacco-related products other than the signs supplied or specifically approved for posting by the province;
• prohibits stores where young persons are permitted access to the premises from displaying tobacco or tobacco-related products in any way that these are visible to the public.

We have seen elsewhere in this report that the law in Saskatchewan has effectively removed all tobacco-related point-of-sale advertising from Saskatchewan retail outlets where young persons are permitted to shop. We also discussed, in sections above, retailer compliance with the province's sign provisions, including the presence in a small minority of stores of "Operation ID" signs not allowed under the law. In this section we report on compliance with respect to Saskatchewan's prohibition against the display of tobacco products, in particular the display of product facings, at the tobacco counter and anywhere in view of young customers.

The great majority of retailers in both Regina and Saskatoon (93% in all) complied with Saskatchewan's new law and kept tobacco displays hidden from view. The compliance figures in Regina and Saskatoon separately are virtually the same (92% and 93%, respectively). A total of 319 stores were visited across both cities and the absolute number of stores actually found to be in violation of the law is relatively small.

Compliance in both cities was also very consistent across classes of retail trade. The lowest incidence of failure to keep tobacco displays from view was recorded in independent convenience stores in Regina (86% in compliance). Highest compliance was among grocery retailers in both cities. These were found 100% in compliance.

The table below summarizes our findings for this part of the survey:

Table 26
Weighted
% of Saskatchewan Retailers With Tobacco Product Hidden From View

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